The sign in front of SickKids hospital in Toronto, Feb. 20, 2023. The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn
A second staff member at SickKids hospital in Toronto has been charged by city police with a sexual offence involving minors within the past month.
A 55-year-old member of the SickKids housekeeping team has been charged as part of a child luring investigation that began in October 2024, Toronto police said in an Aug. 6 press release. The police announcement comes just a few weeks after a doctor who worked at SickKids was arrested and charged as part of an internet child exploitation probe.
Police have accused the latest suspect of making inappropriate remarks while chatting with a 15-year-old via social media and phone messaging apps. Police also allege the suspect sent explicit images to the victim.
Investigators with the Internet Child Exploitation Unit executed a search warrant at a North York home on July 29 and seized several electronic devices as well as written documentation, police said.
Antonio Alvin Dela Cruz of Toronto was arrested the same day in connection with the investigation. He has been charged with luring a person under 18 years of age, making sexually explicit material available to a person under 18, and exposing genitals to a person under 16, as well as accessing and possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material. The charges have not been tested in court.
SickKids said in an online statement that Dela Cruz was placed on leave immediately after the hospital became aware of the charges and the accused has since resigned from his role.
“There is currently no evidence linking the charges to the staff member’s role at SickKids,” the hospital said.
Doctor Facing Charges
The charges against Dela Cruz were filed just one week after Dr. Dilan Dissanayake was arrested on July 21. His arrest is linked to an investigation launched in January after police received allegations that an electronic device was being used to access and download child sexual abuse and exploitation materials.
Search warrants were executed by investigators in February at SickKids, as well as at a home, police said. Officers seized several devices, including a work computer.
Dissanayake, a 44-year-old pediatric rheumatologist, was charged with possession and access to child sexual abuse and exploitation material.
He was placed on “immediate leave” once the hospital became aware of the police investigation and he has also been suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
SickKids acknowledged both employees in its Aug. 6 statement, saying it did not believe then men had ever worked together or knew each other. It called the news of the latest charges “deeply disturbing, particularly given the recent criminal charges involving a SickKids physician.”
“The conduct described in the charges is completely unacceptable and runs contrary to our core values,” SickKids President and CEO Dr. Ronald Cohn said in the statement. “It represents a profound breach of the trust that patients, families, staff and the public place in the people who work at SickKids.”
The hospital said it has a “range of measures in place to help promote a safe environment,” including pre-employment screening procedures, established policies and standards of conduct, as well as workplace safeguards and technological controls aimed at identifying and preventing inappropriate or unlawful activities within its systems.
SickKids said it has enlisted external experts to assess the hospital’s current processes and measures in light of the recent arrests.
“We recognize that even the strongest safeguards cannot prevent every instance of alleged criminal conduct. That is why we continuously maintain rigorous controls and strengthen them whenever possible,” the hospital said.
“We also plan to explore opportunities to strengthen our knowledge of child sexual abuse and exploitation through active engagement in programming provided by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.”
Police are asking anyone with information about either investigation to contact the precinct or report online exploitation through Canada’s National Tipline.
